The Ladies of Tilton Fenwick

When Michelle Adams, editor of Lonny Magazine, saw the Tilton Fenwick logo on their website, she was so impressed she emailed them and asked to see their interior design work, which had yet to be posted.

I was listening to them tell this story at IDFA's Rising Star Awards, with Michelle Adams in attendance, so, we'll assume it was a true story, and live in awe of that.

It turned out that Michelle's hunch was spot on, and Suysel and Anne are immensely talented, well dressed, and have delightful personalities.  Check, check, check, rising star award.

This was the work they showcased.

In explaining this last image, they said they loved to mix 'high and low', and though everything in this room looks untouchably expensive, the coffee table is actually the acrylic peakaboo table from CB2 for $250.  I appreciate them throwing me a bone with that one :)

Overall, their look is really feminine and colorful, with a splash of peacock.  If I lived in pre-war colonial anything I would be so tempted to design like this, but alas I live in a converted warehouse, and neutral moderns are the jam here.

Congrats to Suysel and Anne on their win, cannot wait to see more of their work as it is published!

Redesigning The Bedroom

Our bedroom has been bothering me for a while.  I used to love the design, love love love, but after seeing the beauty of the living room unfold in a sea of neutrals, I started to feel like the bedroom just didn't go with the rest of the apartment.  It was blue, and dark, and had antlers.

That's one of it's glamour shots, so maybe not the best evidence to sway you that we should neutral/modernize it.

This was the original plan.

I think it started to unravel a bit when I diverged from the plan and went with a dresser we already had and its Craigslist twin, which said farmhouse, instead of Anne's tailored modern house.  I also opted to forgo the (expensive) Williams Sonoma Home lamps I wanted, and went with Ikea lamps instead, which were also more classic and less modern.  At this point, I decided we had plateaued and could live there comfortably and show people the room without embarrassment, and focused attention on the living room.

After the living room turned out to be a palace of neutrals, I started to rethink the bedroom.  I was really inspired by the Park Hyatt in Washington D.C., which has neutral rooms with natural elements.

It epitomized feng shui to me: charged with nature, clean and peaceful.

So, I started designing in Photoshop.

Painting by the amazingly talented Liisa Hunter.

It's not the perfect echo of the Hyatt, but I think it is a huge improvement over what was becoming a very cold bedroom.  A huge neutral rug, a low upholstered king sized bed, minimal night tables, white sheets...mmm.  Aaron gave it an overwhelming stamp of approval.

I also wanted to try a few options on the grayscale palate we've been doing in the living room.

Photograph by the amazingly talented Rebecca Philips.

I love the Wall Street look of these rooms.  Aaron didn't :)

I don't think we've landed on the perfect design yet, but I like that he's open to the redesign.  In truth, we haven't spent anything on the bedroom yet beyond paint and a new (old) dresser from Craigslist for $200, so if there is a time to turn around, the time is now.

What do you think of the new direction? Like the Hyatt as an inspiration point?

High Street Market - Grand Opening!

High Street Market's blog and Etsy Store are delicious.  I'll reiterate my fear of flea markets, and say that I very much appreciate High Street Market for taking flea market finds and curating them, at reasonable prices.

I just discovered that they opened up their own (non-Etsy) store, and it is beautiful, and I want everything in it.  Welcome HighStreetMarket.com, and bookmark.

Well this opening does look grand.  Already I want that bar cart.

And these are a few other favorites...

Spencer Marble Side Table, $795, obviously far too expensive to be happening but this would go so well in our living room!

Black Faux Bamboo Tray Table, $225, and at that price, this is in the running for being next to the living room couch.

And all of these...

As much as I appreciate minimalism, I do think a home needs a handful of accessories.  It's immensely difficult for me to buy the non-functional, so I've been starting out with lamps and trays and bowls which at least do things.  These vignettes that High Street Market put together say it all their finds are beautiful and I can't wait to shop here for our home.

What do you think of their new store? Where do you find your best accessories?

Happy Thanksgiving! A Season For Zero Waste

If I celebrated Christmas, it would look like this.  I celebrate Hanukkah, which looks like this.

With the holidays upon us we're about to embark on a true trial of zero waste.  In past years, we've always given each other things: jewelry, a watch, pajamas, a bag, something made by North Face, slippers, etc.  It's merry, to say the least. 

This year, we're taking a different approach, hoping to retain the merry, and dispel another wave of gifts that end up in a donation pile to Housing Works in a year and a half.  We're also closing in on the reality that we're very fortunate to have all that we do, and do we really need more?

And so we've decided to focus on experience gifts.  If we do end up buying each other things, we'll try to buy used, and if they're not used, we'll aim to buy local and support small businesses.

Some ideas for experience gifts this season...

• Restaurant Gift Certificates
• Spa Gift Certificates
• Theater Tickets
• Concert Tickets
• Museum Tickets
• Cooking School Gift Certificates
• Guitar Lessons
• Ski Vacation
• Beach Vacation
• Kindle Books
• iTunes Gift Cards
• Etc.

Some non-gross eBay ideas for used gifts...

• Otherwise Exorbitantly Expensive Designer Bags
• Example: Black Epi LV Speedy 30 (...hint)
• Costume Jewelry
• Example: Kate Spade, J.Crew
• Coffee Table Books on Half.com

There's also the realm of e-readers that I like because they prevent a lot of future waste; you'll greatly reduce consuming printed magazines and books.  Oh, and you can get them used, even more zero waste!

• iPad - Used from $300.00
• Kindle - Used from $85.00

We donated almost all of our books to Housing Works; we already read them, we're now letting others enjoy them at a discount, and we're getting a tax break.  And I get about 18 cubic feet of my apartment back.  We now exclusively read on Kindle, which I far prefer to paperback.

Last but not least, this year is the end of wrapping paper.  Meet reusable gift wrap:

They're all available from a store that is unfortunately named Chewing The Cud, at $16 apiece, which feels ridiculous.  Another solid option would be Ikea fabric.

Just as fun, but needs a hem, and that would mean I would need to learn how to sew, or ask a sweet friend! Hi Kirstin.

And finally, for at least two of our gifts we're going to support small businesses by shopping local this Saturday: "Small Business Saturday by American Express."  If you sync your card with them and spend more than $25 at a small business that day, you'll get a $25 credit on your next statement.  It's $50 in savings between the two of us, and it helps the community, so we're huge fans.

That's the plan! We're wishing everyone a merry holiday season of your own.  We have so much to be thankful for this year, especially our beautiful earth, and even though I'm afraid of nature, I might one day get over that fear, and I would like it to still be there when I do.  Happy Holidays!

IDFA Awards and dinner with winner Nick Olsen!

Ron Marvin (dreamy) was recently honored by the IFDA as a Rising Star, along with Nick Olsen and Anne and Suysel at the firm Tilton Fenwick.  Ron added me as a guest to the awards show so I could attend and cheer him on.  Thankfully my friend Beck, who now works for Ron, was in attendance, so there were two people I knew at the awards show, which basically made me an industry regular.

Speaking of, Michelle Adams, editor of Lonny was there.  I introduced myself, gushed about my love for Lonny for what felt like a really long time, and scampered back to Beck, proud that I had approached a mini-celeb.

After the awards show, I grabbed some dinner with Beck, Nick Olsen who was one of the winners, and Nick's friend Rebecca Philips who is super-talented photographer.  We landed in the East Village at a delicious Italian place called Max.  Nick had actually decorated Rebecca's studio, and this a video if you're interested in seeing the results!

All the designers gave fantastic presentations, but since Nick treated me to dinner I'll laud over him first :)

This is Nick.

Nick started out as an assistant for the fabulous Miles Redd, was a regular contributor to Domino magazine, and maintained their Deal Hunter blog at Dominomag.com.  Domino died but Nick lived on.  This is a sampling of his very colorful world.

That was Nick's first apartment, and this is his next!

And these are some shots of Rebecca Philips apartment, Nick's friend and super talented photographer.

Rebecca made the photograph over the love seat, so soothing!

That chevron dresser is so incredible, I think it has a do-it-yourself following on the interwebs.

Nick is a pro at finding deals at flea markets and the Pearl River Mart.  I'm more terrified of flea markets than I am of nature, so I'm hoping one day to tag along with Nick and learn how to not be freaked out by the excess of dust, and sales clerks who haven't been vetted by corporate America.

That's Nick! So excited to see his new work and thrilled I finally got to meet him.  What do you think of Nick's style? Anything you see here that inspires you?